Draft-gear for railway-cars.



J. M. MOORMAN.

DRAFT GEAR FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9.1914.

1,150,695. Patented Aug. 17,1915.

JA ES M'. MooRMAif, or MARSHALL, TEXAS.

DRA -GEAR FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

Application filed July 9, 1914. Serial No. 850,030.

To all whom it may concern v Be it known that I, JAMEs M. MooRMAN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Marshall, in thecounty ofHarrison and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Draft-Gear for Railway-Cars of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to draft-gear for railway cars and particularlyto a drawbar, and the primary object of the same is to provide simpleand effective means whereby the draw-bar may be positively associatedwith the car between the usual or any preferred form of sills or beamsand having the parts for movably connecting the same disposed insuchmanner that repair and substi tution of either of the parts may beeffected without dissociating the draft bar from the beams or sills orthe parts cooperating therewith and engaging the beams or sillsso as toexpediterepairs of this character and avoid throwing a car out ofcommission for any considerable length of time. j

With this and other objects and advantages in view theinventio-nconsists in the construction and arrangement of the several parts whichwill be more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a portion of thedraft bar and the means for associating the same with the beams or sillsof the car. Fig. 2 is a partial horizontal section taken through thestructure shown by Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section takenthrough the center of the structure shown by Fig. 1.

The numeral 5 designates the ordinary or any preferred form of beamswhich are secured in parallel relation to the under side of the bed ofthe car or the framework supporting the car body and provided withhangers 6 suitably secured thereto and formed with longitudinal openings7.

Engaging the openings 7 of the hangers 6 are a pair of followers 8 whichare spaced a suit-able distance, and between the same are draft springs9 which in the present instance surround draft rods or bars 10 securedat their forward ends to the front follower and having their rear endsprojecting through the rear follower, as at 11 and 12, the springshaving their opposite extremities engaging or adjacent to the inneropposing sides of the two followers. Each of the followers at oppositesides is formed with a guide tenon or lateral extension 13 movable inthe opening 7 and longitudinally surrounding the followers is a yokewhich in the present organization is composed of upper and lower membersor sections 14 and 15 which respectively embrace the upper and lowerportions and front and rear sides of the followers 8. The member 15 isformed with a rearwardly projecting arm 16 having an upwardly extendingangular end 17 of a height above the arm equal to the thickness of arear horizontal extension or arm 18 of the upper member or section 14 sothat the latter will have its rear end abutting snugly against theangular extension 17 to obviate sliding movement of the one section ormember of the yoke on the other. The forward extremities of the membersor sections 14 and 15 of the yoke embrace the rear end of a draw-bar 19which is pivoted to said extremities through the medium of a suitablebolt 20. The rear arm 16 and extension 18 of the members or sections1+1: and 15 are secured by a plurality of bolts 21.

It will be understood that the yoke engages the followers 8 between thebeams or sills 5 as clearly shown by Figs. 2 and 3, and the severalparts of the draw-bar mounting as just explained may be readilyassociated with the beams 5 and hangers 6 and when it becomes necessaryto repair any of the parts or to replace the spring the lower section ormember 15 of the yoke may be removed by detaching the nuts from thebolts 20 and 21 so as to open the lower portion of the yoke and exposethe followers and the draft springs 9 and rods 10 for repair orsubstitution as may be required, and afterward the said member orsection 15 may be easily replaced and secured in materially less timethan would be required to take down the whole draft bar structure inorder to repair a broken or disarranged part. It is obvious that thisconvenience in reaching the parts of the draft bar mounting as justexplained will materially reduce the labor and time ordinarily requiredto repair draft bar mountings as now constructed and as a consequencethe car will not be thrown out of commission for any length of time norwill it be required to run the same on a siding adjacent to a repairshop or to pursue any extensive operations in order to correct or repairirregularities in the draft bar mounting or to substitute parts in thelatter that may have been broken.

Another material advantage in the improved structure is the angularterminal or extension 17 of the arm 16 which prevents the upper sectionor member 14 of the yoke from moving on the lower member 15 in the eventof shearing of the bolts 21, and by this means "also the bolts will bestrengthened or rendered more durable by reason of the fact thatmaterial or shearing movement of the member or section 14: on thememberor section 15 will be obstructed, and, furthermore, this provision alsoinsures more durability and strength in the general organization of thedraft bar mounting.

The improved device will be found excep tionally advantageous in carconstruction and it will be understood that changes in the proportionsand dimensions may be adopted at will to accommodate variousapplications thereof. Furthermore, the use of the improved device is notin the least limited to any precise form of beam or hanger and it isproposed to mount the followers 8 together with the sectional yoke ofthe structure above specified in connection with any form of beam orhanger to which they may be adapted. 7

What is claimed is: a In a draft gear of the class specified, thecombination with the bed of a car, of parallel beams secured to theunder side of the car bed and provided with hangers having longitudinalopenings, the beams and hangers being spaced from each other, a pair offollowers having their opposite ends engaging the longitudinal openingsof the hangers and provided with draft springs between them, draft rodssecured at their forward ends to the front follower and having Copies ofthis patent may be obtained for their rear ends movably projectingthrough the rear follower, a yoke surrounding the followers and composedof upper and lower members respectively embracing the upper and lowerportions andfront and rear sides of the followers, the lower member ofthe yoke being formed with a rearwardly projecting arm having anupwardly extending angular end, and the upper member of the yoke havinga rearwardly projecting centrally located arm which terminally bearsagainst the upwardly extending angular end of the lower yoke member, theyoke members being located between the beams, aplurality of boltsinserted through the rearwardly projecting arm of the lower yoke memberand the arm of the upper yoke member in engagement therewith, theforward ends of the members of the yoke being separated to provide arecess therebetween, a draft bar having its rear end inserted in thesaid recess between the forward extremities'of the members of the yoke,and a single pivot bolt extending through the forward extremities ofthefyoke members and the end of the draft bar therebetween, the lowermember of the yoke being freely removable from beneath' the upper memberof said yoke by disengaging the bolts connecting the rear arms of theyokes without detaching the entire yoke or the remaining portions ofthedraft gear.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses. g

JAMESM. MOORMAN, Witnessesz' g R. A. BAGHUS,

F. S. F sH,

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington,D. G.

